Page 92 of Gambler's Conceit
Maybe that’s what’s bothering me so much.
Instead of punching this dickwipe in the face, I back off. “Come near him again, and I will lay you the fuck out,” I snap at him.
I turn back to where Havoc is still holding a mostly incoherent but fully dressed Seven.
I storm back over to him. “Give him here,” I order. “I’ll carry him.”
“I’ll vomit on you,” Seven says weakly, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. “Let me walk.”
I bark out a disbelieving laugh. “You expect me to believe you can walk after that?”
Havoc strokes Seven’s hair gently. “Let Vortex carry you, Seven. He’ll take care of you.”
Seven laughs and shakes his head, snot running from his nose as he wipes his face with the back of his hand. “And you’ll take care of Michael, right? You’ll beat him black and bloody and rearrange his face?”
Havoc flinches and grits his teeth. “I’m not going to do that.” He turns to thisMichaelperson. “Just don’t let me see you anywhere near Seven again.”
“You won’t! Jesus Christ, I didn’t ask for any of this!” Michael picks up his clothes and runs to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
“He didn’t do anything wrong,” Seven mutters. He seems more lucid now that he’s vomited, at least, but I don’t like the way he’s defending Michael.
“I can’t believe you’d betray my—” I start to say, only to grit my teeth, “Caleb’strust like this, Seven.”
“Trust?” Seven asks, starting to laugh. It’s a wild sound, something strange, and I tug him away from Havoc so I can pull him into my arms. “He doesn’t trust me. He doesn’t care. He just owns me.”
“This isn’t the place to argue about this shit,” Havoc growls. “I’ve got questions too, but not where fuckingMichaelcan overhear us.”
I glare at Havoc, but he’s right. I pick Seven up and carry him toward the elevator. Havoc follows, while Seven squirms and fights my grasp.
“I don’t— I don’t wanna go back,” Seven rasps, tears spilling from his eyes. “I don’t wanna be near him. He’s just…”
My heart clenches at that, and I wish I knew what had set Seven off to the point where he’d acted out like this. It’s one thing for him to go out and get fucked up, but it’s another entirely for him to beg not to go back to Caleb.
Isn’t it?
What’s been going on behind closed doors?
I think Caleb and I need to have a very, very serious chat about what’s going on with Seven.
“It’s all right,” I tell him. “I’ll talk to Caleb.”
Seven sobs, or laughs, or both. I can’t tell. “Yeah. That’s gonna go great. He’ll just dump you in the fucking desert.”
“He isn’t going to do that,” Havoc snaps at Seven. “He’s already down a general manager, remember? He won’t get rid of Vortex at the same time.”
There are more reasons Caleb wouldn’t get rid of me than that, but now isn’t the time or place to talk about that, either. “It’ll be fine,” I say as the elevator dings open at the top floor.
The sheer number of times I have to keep bringing Seven back to Caleb while Seven just tries to run away is starting to get to me.
Havoc opens the door for us, and we head inside.
I’m not surprised to see that Caleb is waiting for us in the living room, and I nod to him. “Let Havoc settle Seven,” I say, my voice steely. “I think you and I need to talk, boss.”
Caleb’s expression is neutral when he looks at Seven. “Yes. That’s a good idea. Be good for Havoc, Seven, while I decide how to punish you.”
Havoc sneers at Caleb and takes a step toward him. “Punish him? Seven doesn’t need punishment?—”
“Please,” Seven begs. “Please, Caleb. Whip me. Hurt me. Anything.”